Page 58 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

He nudged my hand and licked the tips of my fingers. I smiled and said, “You know… I always did want a puppy.”

He let out a low growl that rumbled like a laugh and leaned into me as I continued to pet him. I would never let him live that down. Neither would Guy, his buddy.

Weylan was strong, capable, and fiercely protective as a human. Even more so as a wolf. Still, I couldn’t bear to watch the showdown. It was bloody, gruesome, and the sounds… Ugh.

I shivered.

I was forced to jump inside the cabin when Tabitha launched herself toward the door. Her eyes were on mine, and the fury within them told me she was out for blood. She was so convinced I had stolen Weylan from her. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

One of the conversations we had broached after I agreed to give Weylan another chance was about her. She had some screws loose. Though Weylan admitted it was a mistake, he had kept her around for the sex. I guess it had kept him distracted enough after he met me. But it had quickly worn off his welcome, and the substitution was nowhere near close to the same thing, which made me feel extra special.

However, he caught things off too late. She had already caught feelings for him and wouldn’t take no for an answer. No matter what he did, or the lengths he went to in order to avoid her, she still came back around.

And I had made things worse once she caught my scent.

It was going to take extreme measures to get her to leave us alone and move on with her life. I just hoped there wasn’t going to be any further bloodshed in the process. Mine or Weylan’s. Especially this close to the baby being here.

The gash Tabitha put on his face looked worrisome. He had to have had difficulty seeing with all that blood oozing from the wound.

The sounds of the fight became more distant, and I was getting worried when I couldn’t hear them at all. I probably should have locked myself in the bathroom as he had asked me to do, but I couldn’t help myself. I was concerned about how Weylan was holding up. Tabitha was a force to reckon with. Though she had a troubled and lonely past, that didn’t excuse her behavior or insistence on him belonging to her. Not to mention being reckless and abusive toward Weylan.

He even mentioned she was stronger than him thanks to her unpredictability when in her lion form. That news had done wonders for my anxieties and worries about him. I couldn’t stand hiding in the house any longer, so I slipped out into the house and hid in the woods while the fight continued.

Though I had no idea what happened to Tabitha to make her the way she was, I did wonder if rabies worked the same way with shifters. I hoped Weyland would be okay when it was all said and done. I also didn’t understand what the woman had against me, outside of her delusion that Weylan belonged to her somehow.

The worrying was becoming too much to bear. And with the sounds of the battle too far away from me to hear, I was becoming antsy. So, I slipped out of the front door and headed toward the trees that surrounded the house. And as I moved closer, I could hear the sounds of the fight growing louder.

I continued following the sounds of the fight. Once I had gotten as close as comfort would allow, I hid behind a tree. Just to keep watch and witness the events of the fight in case I need to file some sort of witness statement with the SOTF. Weylan said they were a secret unit of the police department that governed and controlled shifters who stepped out of line.

I wished he had called them before she became a problem again, but Tabitha gave the impression she had gotten the hint and disappeared.

Weylan let out a sound similar to a bark and whine.

I poked my head around the tree to check on him. Tabitha and Weylan were both on their hind legs and stood facing each other. Tabitha sank her claws into Weylan’s sides and went to bite his throat.

I couldn’t watch that and returned to my hiding spot. Weylan had this fight in the bag. Hopefully. I had faith in him. I didn’t know what I would do if Tabitha seriously hurt him. And once this was all said and done, maybe then she would leave us alone.

I poked my head around the tree again and watched as the two rolled on the ground. Teeth and claws ripping and tearing fur. Blood covered both of them in large blotches. Tabitha again went for Weylan’s throat. I squeezed my eyes closed.

He let out a whimper.

I sucked in a breath and opened my eyes to watch as she tried to strangle him with her jaws. My heart hammered in my chest as I stared, waiting for her to deliver the death blow.

“No,” I whispered and shook my head.

A few, excruciatingly long seconds later, Weylan kicked his hind legs, scraping his claws against her underbelly. Blood dripped down and she roared. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted. But I was glad to see Weylan’s move had done the trick. Tabitha released him.

Neither one of them seemed to be willing to back down, and I had a feeling the only way this fight was going to end was with one of them dead.

I prayed it wasn’t going to be Weylan.

I tried to pull myself away from the fight, to hide behind the tree and wait until the moment the battle was over, but like a trainwreck, I couldn’t look away. I watched the fight continue on, holding my breath.

Then Weylan went in for the kill. Launching her into a tree. A crack resonated. I wasn’t sure if it was from her or the tree, but with the fact that Tabitha laid still, I was starting to believe it was her. The tree had a massive gash in the trunk that stretched to the roots. It wouldn’t take much more force for the whole thing to topple over and hit them both.

Weylan stood with his tail facing me, in a guarded stance, staring down at the mountain lion. Her legs twitched. She tried to move but something was clearly broken on her. She tried to lift her head, grunting and groaning, barely lifting her head above the dirt she laid on. After several minutes of her struggling to move, she gave up.

Weylan shifted back to his human form and stared down at the mountain lion.

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